


fever dreams

by missmarsh



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-23 00:50:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19140283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmarsh/pseuds/missmarsh
Summary: “TJ’s sick and he’s going to starve to death if you don’t come over there.”Cyrus takes care of TJ when he's sick. Banter ensues.





	fever dreams

**Author's Note:**

> spoilers for the phantom thread ig dkdjhkdkjfkjh. also barely proofread sorry

_“TJ’s sick and he’s going to starve to death if you don’t come over there.”_

It was looking to be quiet, uneventful Saturday afternoon when Cyrus received a call coming from none other than a panicked Amber Kippen. She had apparently left the house while TJ was still asleep, forgetting to check the cupboards for soup. She only realized that she had left the house with a very sick brother and zero food hours into her work.

Cyrus struggled his way out of the grocery store, carrying bags filled with boxes of kleenex and cans of chicken soup. The walk to TJ’s house wasn’t that far, however Amber’s message still rang clear in his head. _How sick even is TJ? What if he gets the flu AND ulcer?_ The worries kept becoming more and more irrational that he didn’t even notice that he’d brisk walked all the way to the Kippen’s front porch.

It didn’t take that long for him to find the house key, which was hidden in an extremely unconvincing stone mold–  too smooth to be authentic and the porch too plain for it to be merely decorative. _“We’ll get robbed one day and honestly, we’d deserve it.”_ , Amber had joked earlier that day.

Cyrus walked past the living room and into the hallway leading up to TJ’s room. Going for the knob, Cyrus made a mental note to try to open the door as quietly as possible as to not disturb TJ if he was asleep. This well-intentioned plan was ruined immediately as the door creaked loudly the entire time, no matter how gentle Cyrus pushed it.

The room was a mess–  littered with used tissues, crumpled papers, and an unmade bed where TJ Kippen was sat up straight.

“Cyrus?”

TJ’s voice called out from the room. He looked like a mess, baggy eyes and sickly complexion doing nothing to redeem his scratchy voice. He stared up at Cyrus with a look that was both surprised and glassy at the same time. He was probably half-asleep, leaving Cyrus feeling guilty over possibly having awakened him.

“I’m sorry I should’ve knocked or something, I should go-”

“No, no, stop. It’s fine–  I just – ” TJ sneezed. “– what are you doing here?”

“Amber called. Said you were sick and needed feeding.” Cyrus still stood by the doorway, his eyes slowly drifting towards a pair of glasses that sat atop the bedside table. _TJ wore glasses?_

“Oh, well come in.” Cyrus tiptoed around the trash that littered the bedroom floor, and made his way to the foot of the bed. He noticed that TJ was still looking at him with the same look of confusion from earlier.

TJ rubbed at his eyes. “Are you really here?”, he asked Cyrus, whose eyes only widened in response.

“What?” Cyrus was starting to get worried of the extent of TJ’s sickness. “Are you okay? Do I need to call Amber or…”

TJ shook his head. “Don’t worry I’m fine, I just need to know..” He trailed off before grabbing Cyrus’ arm, pulling him closer. TJ then proceeded to lightly touch the other boy’s face. Cyrus was completely lost by that point, so all he could do was try to breathe normally.

TJ stopped after a couple seconds and sighed in relief. “Okay, good. I’m safe.” He looked up to find Cyrus beet red in the face, looking extremely concerned.

TJ seemed to recollect himself as he offered up an explanation. “Sorry, I just woke up from this really shitty fever dream where worms kept crawling on me, and all I could hear were the sounds of a crowd laughing at me. Pretty sure I heard Amber and Buffy in that crowd. Anyways, just had to check that you weren’t some dream demon sent to feed me some more worms.” TJ had said all too casually.

Seconds passed consisting of Cyrus staring at him in complete disbelief, before bursting into laughter, with TJ following in suit. The two seemed to calm down after a bit, until TJ’s laughter slowly turned into a coughing fit. Cyrus softly patted his back ‘till the coughs died down. “Let’s put horrifying fever dreams on hold for bit, yeah?”

TJ gave out harsh coughs in response. “God, I need some fucking water.” He said as he started to pull himself up from the bed.

“Woah there, what do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m getting myself some water?” TJ said as he continued to pull himself up, only to be stopped by Cyrus slowly pushing him back down onto the bed.

“You’re too sick, you’ll tire yourself. I’ll get you some water and soup.”

TJ rolled his eyes in response, “I can walk Cy, it’s only a little fever.”

“You literally just had a fever dream, then proceeded to touch my face in fear of still being in said fever dream.”

“Fair point.” TJ was still hesitant, however. “You really don’t have to-”

“-except I do. Let me help, plus, Amber will kill us both if you don’t eat.”

Seeing as Cyrus wasn’t going to back down, TJ resigned and relaxed into his position. He looked up at Cyrus expectantly, “Well? Chop chop then. The soup ain’t gonna cook itself.” He said as he threw a pillow aimed at Cyrus’ head.

Cyrus yelped as he dodged the object, before looking back at TJ with an exaggerated look of betrayal. “WOW. I go all the way here to take care of you, and this is how I get treated?” Cyrus said as he walked out of TJ's room

“You technically broke into my house, so it’s pretty warranted. Speaking of, how’d you even get in?”

“I found your fake rock.” TJ's laugh could be heard from the hallway.

 

-

 

Cyrus got back from the kitchen to bring TJ a glass of water, only to return immediately for the soup preparation. While the the soup was being cooked, Cyrus was still trying to recover from the mini ‘face-grabbing’ fiasco from earlier. He brought his hand to his cheek and sighed. The touch faintly lingered on his skin.

When the soup was finished cooking, he poured it into a bowl and walked back to the room. Cyrus entered the room, and it was only then when he finally took in everything–  everything pertaining to the way TJ looked in that moment. His hair was free of gel, allowing it to grow messy, fluffy, even. The real kicker, however, was the glasses. TJ must have put them on while he was gone, giving Cyrus no warning whatsoever. Cyrus felt his face start to heat up

“Thanks.”, TJ said in a low and raspy voice, which did nothing to soothe the fluttery feeling in Cyrus’ stomach. _How can someone this sick still be so damn cute?_ He thought to himself, unable to contain his smile.

TJ noticed this, raising his eyebrows in suspicion. “What’s got you so cheery?”

“Oh it’s nothing. I just… remembered something someone said the other day! Yeah..” Cyrus said, silently cursing himself for being too obvious. He handed the bowl of soup towards the other boy.

Unconvinced, TJ only looked at the bowl before looking back at Cyrus. “What’s in this soup?”

“What?”

“Oh don’t try and play coy boy! Is it arsenic, cyanide, wild mushrooms?” TJ sat up animatedly as he interrogated, attempting to seem serious and failing.

Cyrus’ eyes widened in disbelief then giggled. “Are you implying that I’m trying to POISON you?!”

“AHA! You didn’t deny it!”, TJ exclaimed. A small laugh escaped from him as he pointed his finger towards the other boy. “Acting all smiley, I know that smile. The Scheming Smile.”

Cyrus rolled his eyes. “I act a little weird, and the first thing you think is that I’m trying to poison you?”

“I don’t think, I know.”

“What would I benefit from poisoning you exactly? A jail sentence? A dead friend?”

“Maybe I pissed you off and you’re pulling an Alma.”

“Haha. Wait what-”, Cyrus was surprised by the reference the other had just made. “Was that all just an extremely convoluted reference to _Phantom Thread_? You actually watched it?”

“Of course I did, it’s all you’ve been talking about for weeks now.” TJ had said plainly, unaware of the blush that slowly crept upon the Cyrus’ face.

It really shouldn’t be big deal, Cyrus had simply recommended the film a few weeks ago, never really expecting TJ to take time out of his day to watch a 2 hour long movie. He didn’t expect TJ to view all the other films he’s recommended either. In fact, he should’ve gotten used to it by now–  friends listen to friends, friends engage in each other’s interests. But even Andi and Buffy have grown tired of his extended rants on the so-called ‘genius’ of Wes Anderson or some other random director (which, in their defense, was completely justified).

TJ, however, had just made a reference to the fucking _Phantom Thread_ , even remembering the detail of poisonous mushrooms. So yeah, he had the right to over-analyze it.

“It’s a weird fucking movie though.” TJ said, interrupting Cyrus’ internal monologue.

“Eh. It’s the thought that counts.”

He handed the bowl of soup over to TJ, who merely stared at it, seeming to have lost his appetite. “I’ll eat later, I’m kind of full at the moment.”

Cyrus frowned. “You haven’t eaten all day. I don’t want you to get ulcer.”

“That’s a bit of an escalation.” TJ quipped, before sinking back onto the bed, still overcome with fatigue.

This only sought to deepen Cyrus’ worry for the other boy, who looked ghostly by that point. He sighed,  proceeding to bring a spoonful of soup to TJ’s lips. TJ raised his eyebrows, slightly amused by the action. “Really?”

“Come on Teej, you need to eat.” Cyrus said, lightly nudging the spoon against the TJ’s lips.

TJ chuckled at the ridiculousness of the situation, and gave in, taking a slow sip from the spoon. “There. Happy, Underdog?”

Cyrus smiled at him fondly, feeding him another spoonful of soup.

He noticed that TJ was watching him intently, with an unreadable expression, and stopped. A reddish tinge seemed to have appeared on TJ’s cheeks. Cyrus’ face flushed at that.

They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, the tension still hanging in the air, until TJ coughed abruptly.

“I think I’ll take it from here.”

“Sure, sure.” Cyrus stammered as he handed the bowl of soup over to TJ, eyes not meeting his.

TJ took the bowl, and did not do anything except examine it, eyes fixedly on the bowl. After a few moments, he finally took a few spoonfuls of soup.

Things seemed to be lightening up, before TJ paused suddenly, squinting at the bowl. He then proceeded to gag, which quickly caught Cyrus’ attention.

“Are you okay?” TJ responded by giving out violent, croaky coughs, gasping heavily. He then lurched forward and clawed at his throat, the gagging noises growing even more intense.

“TJ!” Cyrus scrambled to find some water nearby, when he caught a glimpse of a tiny smirk from TJ, who up until that point, was giving quite a performance. Cyrus felt a sense of relief wash over him, immediately replaced by contempt.

The performance was cut short by a pillow promptly smacking TJ in the face. He took one look at Cyrus, who was absolutely furious at that point, and completely lost it.

“YOU’RE! SUCH! A! DICK!” Cyrus yelled as he smacked TJ repeatedly on the arm, which only worsened the other’s laughter.

“Ow! Did you really just curse at me? You never do that!” TJ stated in between laughter, clearly amused.

Cyrus rolled his eyes. “Well I just did. Which only happens on rare occasion so enjoy them while you can,” He lay down at the foot of the bed, before adding, “asshole”, earning a laugh from TJ.

He stared up at the empty ceiling for a moment, before TJ’s head came into view, looking down at him.

“Are you mad?

“A little miffed, but I’ll live.”

Eyebrows furrowed, the amused expression on TJ’s face quickly shifted into guilt. “Hey, I’m sorry. Kind of a dick move now that I think about it.”

Cyrus sat up at that, not expecting a genuine apology, “I’m fine, really, but sure. Apology accepted. Ish.” He said, giving TJ a soft pat on the back.

TJ smiled, then moved to place his hand on Cyrus’ shoulder. “I’ll make it up to you with muffins, flavor of choosing! Could be chocolate, blueberry, wild mushroom…” Cyrus laughed, giving him a light push to the chest.

“Sorry Teej, but you can’t bribe me into forgiving you.”

“Goddammit, that was my whole plan!”

Cyrus tossed another pillow aimed for TJ’s head, hitting him squarely in the face. “You’ve got to stop doing that! Is this how you treat the sick?”

“Yes.” Cyrus replied curtly. The two glared at each other for a moment, until TJ snorted, with Cyrus following shortly after, ultimately dissolving into fits of laughter.

 

-

 

“Not you too..”

“Oh come on Teej! Admit it, you ignore the cookie. _Everyone_ ignores the cookie.”

TJ shook his head in disbelief. “The bitterness of the cookie balances out all the sweetness coming from the cream. Without it, the sweetness would be too overbearing!” The two were currently laying in bed, sides pressed against each other, arguing about the significance of the Oreo cookie–  the debate sparked by a gourmet eats video that played in the background of their bickering.

“Fine, the cookie can stay-”

“-Plus, you need a cookie to dunk. You can’t dunk cream filling!”

“Okay! Okay, you win. Who knew being a professional baker made you such a snob..” Cyrus teased as he poked TJ at the side.

TJ scoffed, “That has nothing to do with it! Doesn’t take an expert to have taste!”

“Are you implying that I don’t have taste?”

“Who said I was–  y’know what, I’m not even gonna bother.” TJ resigned finally, and sank further into the bed.

Cyrus nudged his elbow against the TJ’s, “Hey, don’t stop now, we gotta keep the rapport going.” TJ chuckled for a moment, before turning his head away from Cyrus, and starting a sneezing fit.

Cyrus sat up in concern, watching him sneeze in succession. He moved closer, gently patting the other boy on the back until the sneezes died down.

“Fuck.” TJ rubbed his temple, wincing. “Still not feeling too good Cy, sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Cyrus replied softly, stroking his thumb across the boy’s back. “I’ll go get you some more water.”

“Maybe some nyquil too while you’re at it.” Cyrus left the room in a rush, only to return about a minute later, glass of water and a cup of nyquil in hand.

“Well, I guess this is the end.” TJ said as he took the small cup of nyquil and drank it, nearly gagging at the bitter taste.

“Last few moments before you’re completely drugged up on that stuff. Any last words?” Cyrus joked as TJ gulped down the water.

TJ paused, then gazed up at Cyrus, smirking, “ _Kiss me, my boy, before I’m sick._ ” He said with a wispy inflection, in imitation of the actor from the film, before giggling at his own joke.

Cyrus, slightly taken aback by the comment, did not return the laughter immediately. He felt his face heat up as he watched the boy laugh. _TJ Kippen just asked me to kiss him,_ he thought to himself shortly, then joined in on the giggling.

TJ seemed to process what he had just said, as Cyrus notice his face slightly redden, “I meant- it’s a reference to the movie. Y’know, the part when he says- yeah.”

“I got it dude. I watched it first.” Cyrus watched TJ’s face turn into a deeper shade of red, making him chuckle. He nudged TJ on the shoulder, “Teej, it’s fine. It was funny.”

TJ huffed at that, ”Yeah, needs no reminding.”

They decided to put on a documentary for Cyrus to watch while TJ settled into his position, the feeling of drowsiness starting to settle in. “Maybe some background noise will help you doze off.” Cyrus joked, placing the laptop at the foot of bed before laying down next to TJ.

“Hey, I actually enjoy those documentaries.”

“ _Sure_ you do. That’s what everyone says.”

“And maybe they’re not lying.” TJ said, slurring his words. “If I wasn’t weak as shit with fever, I’d be watching with you. Plus, I love hearing you talk about the different types of crab.”

Cyrus smiled, gently rubbing TJ’s arm. “Pretty convoluted way of saying that you like talking to me.”

They lay there in silence, only the murmur of the documentary to keep them company, for what seemed like hours.

“Thanks, by the way. For taking care of me, and for staying this long. You really didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to, though. Didn’t want to leave you alone.”

“I’d do the same for you.” TJ turned to face Cyrus, “you know that, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Good, just making sure. I’m kind of a sap when I’m sick.”

“You’re kind of a sap all the time, actually, so I don’t mind.” Cyrus teased, then paused. TJ was staring at him, with a look that he couldn’t quite decipher. “What is it?”

“Nothing, it’s just,” TJ paused. “Eyelashes.”

Before Cyrus could ask any questions, TJ cupped his cheek to pull him closer.

“Your eyelashes,” TJ mumbled, gazing at him with a soft look in his eyes. “They’re long.”

Their faces were inches apart now, so close that they could feel each other’s breaths. Cyrus watched as TJ’s eyes drifted its attention from his eyelashes, and down to his lips. His breath hitched. He felt the boy’s thumb touch his lips, in one soft stroke.

Time seemed to have stopped for a moment, before TJ’s eyelids fluttered, then closed, head dropping onto Cyrus’ chest.

Meanwhile Cyrus lay there, unmoving, as he tried to process everything that had just happened. He felt a yawn escape from him, then sighed. He started stroke TJ’s hair, the feeling of drowsiness starting to overcome him as well.

Hours later, Amber would find the two of them tangled together on the bed. She would scold Cyrus as he walked out, going on and on about how hard the flu season was hitting. He could possibly catch TJ’s fever in a few days if he wasn’t careful, he considered briefly.

But Cyrus didn’t care about any of that, not in that moment. Cyrus placed a gentle kiss on TJ’s forehead, and drifted off to sleep.

 

**Author's Note:**

> so i watched phantom thread a few days ago. it was good, dk why i added references tho but it's funny ig  
> anyways i kind of hate this but whatever. first fic ever posted. cool!


End file.
